An unprecedented shift has seen equality dominate the news agenda. People who had never even considered attending a demonstration joined marches in their cities. Many who were previously apathetic to politics ticked a box on a ballot sheet for the first time.

To mark the day, we asked i readers, MPs, presenters and campaigners to tell us one thing they did for equality that they are proud of.

Jessica Wragg, a butcher at the Ginger Pig

I put forward a book proposal to publishers in the US to tell the story of my 10 years as a woman in the meat industry. They took it; it’s going to be published next year.

Marsha De Cordova, Labour MP for Battersea

As a visually impaired woman of colour, winning a crucial swing seat is something I’m immensely proud of and I am also grateful for the opportunity to fight for genuine equality from inside Parliament. Too often disabled women are held back by social and institutional barriers which stop them from fulfilling their potential. This has got to change.

Harini Iyengar, lawyer

I’ve devoted 20 years to fighting for equality and human rights as a lawyer. But the thing I did in 2017 which made me the proudest was standing for Parliament in the general election for the Women’s Equality Party. I am now standing for the Women’s Equality Party in Hackney as the local election candidate for Dalston on 3 May 2018.

Sarah Sands, Editor of the Radio 4 Today Programme

I’ve been reading an awful lot of brilliant books by women as Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018 judging panel. I think that’s probably been my biggest contribution as it hasn’t left me a lot of time to do anything else!

Cathy Newman, Presenter for Channel 4 News

I wrote a book called Bloody Brilliant Women. It celebrates the female pioneers, revolutionaries and geniuses who transformed 20th century Britain. Many of them should have been in the history books but aren’t. My take on their stories is out in the Autumn.

Kate Lister, Dr at Leeds Trinity University

On International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers I joined Basis Yorkshire, the Sex Worker’s Opera and other supporters. We walked down the central shopping street of Leeds carrying red umbrellas, the symbol of the sex worker rights movement. The street was transformed into a sea of red and the names of women who had been killed in Leeds were read out and remembered. It was a humbling experience.

Nimco Ali, anti-FGM campaigner and co-founder of Daughters of Eve

I lobbied Somaliland’s presidential candidates to commit to pass legislation against female genital mutilation during last year’s election. All three agreed and on 6 February 2018 the winning candidate tabled the first ever anti-FGM legislation in the country.

Jane Cowley, comms director of Waspi campaign

On behalf of the 3.8 million women born in the 1950s, I brought the impact of the changes to women’s State Pension Age to politicians’ attention. Our Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign now has cross-party support for a just solution and is also seeking redress through the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Katherine O’Brien

Head of Media and Policy Research at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service

My proudest moment of the last year – indeed my proudest moment of my working life – was hearing the Chancellor announce on 29 June that women from Northern Ireland would be granted fully-funded abortion care in England. If followed our campaign, waged with other wonderful women’s organisations and of course championed by the indomitable Stella Creasy MP. I am not ashamed to say that I have the Chancellor’s announcement framed and in pride of place in my flat. Over the next 12 months, I will be campaigning for the Government to introduce buffer zones around clinics and decriminalise abortion across the UK. There’s still plenty of space on my walls to fill.

David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham

David Lammy (Getty Images)

As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood I am proud to be campaigning for overdue improvements to Shared Parental Leave policy in solidarity with every single woman earning less than their male counterparts so we can close the gender pay gap and end outdated and gendered assumptions about work and childcare.

Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party

Co-Leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas MP (Getty Images)

Last year I was proud to be an outspoken member of the cross-party group on sexual harassment. Our work is a step towards a serious change in culture in Westminster. The next step is MPs being forced to go to consent training, or risk being fined – and those who do wrong facing serious consequences.

Anj Handa

I created Igniting Inspiration, a year-round campaign to showcase women making a positive difference in society. It’s a unique approach to celebrate the achievements of women, which is one of this year’s #PressforProgress aims and the pledge that I signed up to on the official website.

Nicky Morgan, Conservative MP for Loughborough

Nicky Morgan (Photo: Getty)

I became the first female Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and we launched the Women in Finance inquiry.

Lucy Mullaly

I took part in the Six Items Challenge last year – wearing just six main items of clothing for six weeks as an intentional ‘fast fashion’ fast. I wanted to draw attention among my friends and family to the damaging nature of the fast fashion cycle and dangerous working conditions for garment workers.

Lorna Harris

I pulled up a big shot company director after reading an email chain where he referred to me as a ‘his PR girl’ – I had a very frank chat with him and he actually said he had never seen it that way before and understood. He didn’t mean to offend but he has never done it again. I also went on several marches and opened up on my own experience during the #metoo campaign.

Karen Ingala Smith

CEO of nia, a London-based domestic and sexual violence charity

nia provided face-to-face support to over 1,500 women and girls in East London and telephone and email support to a further 700 women who have been subjected to men’s violence and abuse. Last year we supported two important legal cases, one about police accountability to do their jobs with regards to their handling of early reports to them about serial rapist John Worboys and the other supporting women to clear their criminal records of prostitution-specific offences. Two few charities stay political about the causes they were set up to address. It’s important to me that as a proudly feminist charity, nia doesn’t do that.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

(Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

As a proud feminist at City Hall, I am pleased to have launched my campaign #BehindEveryGreatCity. I’m also really proud that later this Spring we will see the statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett being unveiled in Parliament Square. This will be the first-ever monument of a woman to stand there.

Helen Pankhurst

Helen Pankhurst (Devlin/Getty Images)

CARE International’s Special Advisor and great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst

My book, Deeds not Words, the Story of Women’s Rights, Then and Now was published on the centenary of women’s suffrage. In a small way, I hope I have helped join the dots between feminism past and present, between the local and the global.

Rachel Krys, co-director of End Violence Against Women

I’m proud of successfully campaigning for schools to respond better when girls are raped or sexually assaulted by other pupils.

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